A recent essay in The Independent (Singapore) warns that plans to construct a new canal across the Isthmus of Kra are an existential threat to Singapore. If the Kra Canal truly becomes a reality, ships would certainly consider by-passing the Strait of Malacca and Singapore altogether, making the Singapore’s all-important geographical location redundant. We may […]
Category: Economics
Transactions Costs in Strange Places: Geertz on the “Bazaar Economy” of “Modjokuto”
Today I teach the Coase Theorem in my undergraduate Politics and Markets class. In a directed grad reading on Indonesian political economy, we are covering Clifford Geertz’s Peddlers and Princes. I did not anticipate that the two would have much relevance for one another, but they do. Specifically, the description of transactions costs in a […]
